Modern warships use guided missiles as their principal offensive and defensive weapons. Since a naval engagement may be protracted, a warship must have many missiles available for immediate launch. This need has been addressed by multiple-missile launchers, in which plural launch cells (e.g., eight cells, etc.) are loaded with missiles that can be individually launched.
There is also a need to launch, from a single multiple-missile launcher, missiles of different mission type. This need has been met, for example, by the below-deck, vertical Mk41 and Mk57 missile launchers. These launchers accept canisterized missiles, wherein the missiles in the canister can be one of several types. The canisters are loaded into corresponding canister-holding chambers or cells in the missile launcher. Each canisterized missile has a standardized connector, which is connected within each cell, to a launch sequencer. The launch sequencer is an electronic assembly that identifies the missile within the canister by interrogating a code that is associated with the canister. The launch sequencer also responds to arming and firing signals from a higher level of control by generating a sequence of signals for the identified missile (e.g., firing signals, safe signals, etc.). These signals are transmitted via an umbilical cable to the canister and the missile within it to control launch.
A major road block to providing new munitions capability to naval fleets is the extremely high cost of launcher-related modifications. Specifically, integration of a new munition into an existing main battery launching system typically requires the design and qualification of a new canister for packaging, handling, storing, and transporting the munition. Furthermore, existing main battery host-launcher electronics and software must be appropriately modified to provide power and interfacing to each of the munition rounds in the newly developed canister. Additionally, integrating a new munition typically requires requalifying the gas management system of the launcher for the new munition.
It would therefore be beneficial to develop a way to reduce the cost for integrating new munitions in existing main-battery launchers.